Pipe-cleaner.



PATENTED JAN. 2, 1906.

F. A. FALT.

PIPE CLEANER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 7, 1905.

5 W a 6 4 5. 5 w la/um/ j 21216112602": %AJ% F7 witnesses UNITED STATES ATENT FFllfiF.

PEPE-CLEANER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 2, 1906.

Application filed April 7, 1905. Serial No. 254,304.

To all whmn it nut/y concern.-

Be it known that I, FRED A. FALT, a citizen of the United States, residing at West Medford, in the county of MiddleseX and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Pipe-Cleaners, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a cheap, simple, durable, and efiicient device for cleaning nicotin out of the stems of pipes.

The invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts set forth in the following specification, and particularly pointed out in the claims thereof.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of one form of my improved pipecleaner. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of another form of my invention. Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4: is

a front elevation of the form of my invention illustrated in Fig. 2, showing the same with the free ends or prongs thereof closed together and with a piece of cotton-wool or fabric attached thereto.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

In the drawings, Fig. 1, 5 and 6 are two wires joined together at one end thereof for a portion of their length, the free ends 7 8 of said wires being beveled outwardly in opposite directions at 9 10, respectively, to form chisel cutting edges. The wires 5 and 6 are also each provided with a corrugation or tooth 11 12, and these teeth are preferably each provided with a face 13, said face being inclined outwardly and away from the free ends of said wires.

In Figs. 2 and ll have illustrated a slightlymodified form of my invention, in which the pipe-cleaner is formed of one piece of wire bent between its ends to form a handle 14, the two portions 5 and 6 of said wire adjacent to said bent portion or handle being joined together for a portion of their length, as from the handle 14 to the part indicated by the line a, Fig. 2, thence diverging slightly one from the other and terminating in chisel-points 7 and 8, beveled upon their inner edges 9 and 10. Said portions 5 and 6 are provided with teeth 11 and 12 of substantially the same shape as those hereinbefore described in relation to the form of my invention illustrated in Fig. 1. The wire of which my improved pipe-cleaner is constructed is preferably flattened upon one side, so that when the two flattened sides are brought together they form a circle as a whole, as illustrated in Fig. 3.

In Fig.4: I have illustrated the form of my invention illustrated in Fig. 2, with the free ends of the portions 5 and 6 brought together and a piece of cotton-wool or other desirable fabric 15 attached thereto, preferably by windin g the same around and between the free ends 7 and 8 of the wire.

The preferred form of my invention is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4c, in which the device hereinbefore set forth is made of one piece of wire properly bent of the desired shape in cross-section; but it is evident that the form of my invention illustrated in Fig. 1 contains substantially the same elements, the wires 5 and 6 being joined together and. forming, in efl ect and function, a single piece.

In carrying my improved pipe-cleaner into practical operation, and considering now the form illustrated in Figs. 2 and A, the free ends of the wire are pressed together and inserted in the bore of the pipe-stem. The device is then pushed backward and forward in said stem, the chisel-shaped points of the portions 5 and 6 scraping off any hardened nicotin or carbon that may have accumulated in the bore of the pipe. As the device is made preferably of spring metal, the chisel-points bear at all times with a spring-pressure against the periphery of the bore of the pipe-stem, so that all hardened nicotin or carbon is scraped therefrom and either forced into the bowl of the pipe or partially withdrawn from the stem of the pipe when the cleaner is withdrawn therefrom. After scraping the interior of the bore of the pipe in the manner hereinbefore described a piece of cotton-wool or other fabric is attached to the chisel points of the device, as illustrated in Fig. 4:, and this is then introduced into the bore of the pipestem to thoroughly wipe out the nicotin contained therein. The next operation consists in soaking the cotton-wool in alcohol and again inserting the same in the pipe-stem, and, finally, a clean piece of cotton-wool having been placed upon the end of the cleaner, the stem of the pipe is thoroughly dried by inserting the new swab in said stem.

The manner of using the form of my invention illustrated in Fig. 1 is substantially the same as that hereinbefore described in relation to the form of my invention illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4, and while I have described and claimed the device of this invention as bent midway of its length to form a handle 14: it is evident that it is not necessary that the said bent portion should be located exactly in the middle between the free ends of the wire in order to produce an operative and eflicient device embodying this invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire by Letters Patent to secure, is

1. A pipe-cleaner comprising in its construction two wires joined together at one end thereof, the free ends of said wires beveled outwardly away from each other to form chiselpoints.

2. A pipe-cleaner comprising in its construction two wires joined together at one end thereof, the free ends of said wires beveled in opposite directions to form cutting edges, each of said wires provided with a corrugation upon its outer face for the purpose specified.

3. A pipe-cleaner consisting of a wire bent midway of its length, the two halves thereof brought into juxtaposition and connected together for a portion of their length, the free ends of said wire beveled outwardly away from each other to form chisel-points.

4. A pipe-cleaner consisting of a wire bent midway of its length, the two halves thereof brought into juxtaposition and connected together for a portion of their length, thence diverging one from the other, each provided upon its outer edge with a tooth for the purpose specified.

5. A pipe-cleaner consisting of a wire having a flattened side and bent midway of its length to bring the flattened sides of the two halves thereof into juxtaposition, said halves connected together for a portion of their length and beveled outwardly away from each other to form chisel-points.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FRED A. FALT. 

